Going GREEN With Recruiting

April 19, 2012

4 min read

Earth day is April 22 every year, and it’s the day more than one billion people around the globe will get their green on by participating in rallies, planting trees, learning about renewable energies, and in general making constructive noise about the environment and our impact on it.

Earth Day isn’t just for individual citizens however, it’s important to remember that businesses plays a big part in the environmental equation. The whole idea of going green for a business is about sustainability. It is the concept of doing more with less and not only applying it to your financial strategy to save money, but also making a positive impact on the environment.

One of the most common examples of sustainable business initiatives is the act of using less paper. In 2008 the average white-collar worker in America used more than 120 pounds of paper. When you multiply 120 pounds by the number of employees you have it becomes clear how this can really add up. The good news is that since 2001 that number has decreased with white-collar workers using less and less paper. One reason for the continual drop is younger workers, who have grown up with electronic communication, feel less need to print documents than their older colleagues.

As a hiring manager one big initiative you can take advantage of is utilizing online video for acquiring new talent. Video recruiting keeps you green by efficiently streamlining the process of hiring. Prospective employees can review your company online at your branded company profile to get a better view of your organization. You can post jobs and receive applications that let you quickly screen the candidates through their video profiles. This gives you a clear idea of their communication skills and creativity. Multiple members of your company can access your Spark Hire account for review of screened candidates. This narrows down your top picks without the paper shuffle that traditionally occurs with the hiring process.

The online live interview feature also keeps your company green and saves money by cutting out transportation for interviewees. Not only do you minimize your travel expenses, but you reduce your carbon footprint a bit too.

You’ve still got to look at how the concept of doing more with less as it applies to your finances. How much does it cost to recruit and hire a new employee? There are a lot of variables that go into what a business pays but generally speaking, there are 1.) the costs associated with the acquisition of a new hire which can be measured to a more accurate degree, and 2.) the costs associated with the unfilled position itself.

You also need to factor in the costs of advertising and promotion of the position, the cost of you and your staff’s time that is spent reviewing resumes and scheduling interviews, the cost of other staff to read the resumes and then interview and discuss candidates.

Finally, you have to consider the costs associated with a position going unfilled – factors such as lost productivity with the position itself being vacant, other employees handling the extra work requiring overtime, and loss of morale within the company related to employees picking up the extra work load. Every day a position is open the company is either losing money or not addressing a key business issue.

When you take into consideration the costs, the time, and the overall carbon footprint that is associated with a successful company, it’s clear you need to consider sustainable business initiatives. It makes sense for the environment and happily, your bottom line too. So enjoy the upcoming Earth Day knowing you are doing right by the environment and your company with video recruiting.

What are you going to do on Earth Day and beyond to help the environment? We would love to hear your ideas!

Heather Huhman

Heather R. Huhman is the Career & Recruiting Advisor for Spark Hire. She writers career and recruiting advice for numerous outlets, and is the author of Lies, Damned Lies & Internships: The Truth About Getting from Classroom to Cubicle (2011), and #ENTRYLEVELtweet: Taking Your Career from Classroom to Cubicle (2010). Connect with Heather and Spark Hire on Facebook and Twitter.

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